**4. Historical narrative of marine mammal exploitation in the Caribbean Basin**

Native Americans exploited cetaceans and other marine mammals in the Caribbean Basin since before the arrival of the Europeans (Acosta 1590, Romero et al. 1997, Romero and Hayford 2000, Romero et al. 2002). The first whaling operations in this area, as defined earlier by Europeans or people of European descent, were in Bermuda. As soon the first English colonists arrived in those islands in 1609 they tried to hunt humpback whales (*Megaptera novaeangliae*) but it was not until 1663 when the first successful attempt took place in those waters (Romero 2006).

The earliest record of an attempt to whale in the Caribbean Basin area by New Englanders was in 1688 when there was a petition to the Governor of New York asking for permission to carry on "a fishing Design about the Bohames Islands and Cap florida for sperma Coeti whales and Racks: And so to returned for this Port" (Starbuck 1876, p. 15). The term "sperma Coeti" refers to the sperm whale (*Physeter macrocephalus*) and "Racks" was a spelling used in the seventeenth century for wrecks. Although there is no record that this expedition ever took place, this is an interesting record because it is dated 24 years before the first actual successful hunt of a sperm whale took place by New Englanders in 1712 near Nantucket (Hawes 1924, p. 57).

The earliest known logbook that refers to a successful Yankee whaling expedition to the Caribbean Basin is that of *Two Brothers*, from Nantucket, MA. This brig visited Barbados in 1775 (logbook at the New Bedford Whaling Museum under the former collection of the Kendall Whaling Museum). The last one was of the schooner *Athlete* out of New Bedford that visited St. Thomas in 1921. Yet, there are indications that some Yankee whalers had been visiting the area for many years before that (Clark 1887, p. 64-65) (see Table 1).


**Table 1.** Sources of earlier visits of the Caribbean Basin by American whaleships.

Although occasional expeditions also took place primarily between 1830 and 1860, the heyday of Yankee whaling in the Caribbean Basin occurred roughly between 1860 and 1880. Below is the narrative of how Yankee whaling interplayed with the majority of the countries visited.

## **4.1. Barbados**

224 New Approaches to the Study of Marine Mammals

**3. Quantitative results** 

from numerous sources cited throughout this chapter.

**Figure 1.** Places visited by Yankee whalers and their frequency.

context is interpreted in the Discussion section.

interplay among numerous factors.

**Basin** 

As a general source of data on Yankee whaling expeditions I used Lund (2001). Of the known 14,864 voyages of Yankee whalers there were at least 1101 voyages to the North Atlantic of which 454 were voyages to the Caribbean Basin (including Bermuda). Many of those voyages included whaling operations in more than one location in the Caribbean. All information about those voyages was tabulated by vessel name, year of departure, and locality visited. Many of the logbooks of the vessels involved in this activity were examined at the New Bedford Whaling Museum, the Free Public Library, New Bedford, and the Providence Public Library. Other information of this activity for this area was compiled

The places visited by Yankee whalers and the numbers of visits per locality are shown in Figure 1. Barbados and Bermuda are the places most visited by Yankee whaling vessels.

The frequency with which that activity took place is shown in Figure 2. To that figure other historical information was added in order to put the activity in historical context. That

I combined this information with other historical records of the political, economic and social circumstances that might have influenced whaling in that geographic area. This chapter shows how a holistic description of a whaling activity requires understanding of the

**4. Historical narrative of marine mammal exploitation in the Caribbean** 

Native Americans exploited cetaceans and other marine mammals in the Caribbean Basin since before the arrival of the Europeans (Acosta 1590, Romero et al. 1997, Romero and

**2. Methods** 

American whaling vessels frequently visited Barbados. This island has the largest number of visits registered in this study. Yankee whalers engaged in whaling and the trans-shipment of whale oil and utilized Barbadian ports for the re-stocking of provisions. Additionally, some Yankee whaling vessels were taken there after being captured by British vessels during the British-American War (1812-1815); others were simply abandoned there. This provided ample opportunity for Barbadians to have direct contact with whalers and to acquire whaling skills. For example, an unspecified number of locals joined Yankee whaling vessel crews in order to fulfill the need for hands on board because of death and desertion. Since Yankee whalers recruited many Barbadians, they gained the necessary skills to hunt whales they later applied to shore whaling after returning to Barbados. The combination of Yankee and shore whaling led to the local extinction of humpback whales in those waters (Romero and Creswell 2010 and references therein).

Yankee Whaling in the Caribbean Basin: Its Impact in a Historical Context 227

extracted from them. Humpback whales produce a high volume of oil (approximately 25 barrels per adult animal), whereas pilot whales produce two types of oils: one from the blubber and one from the melon (a bulbous area located on the head of the animal). Oil from the latter is of high quality as characterized by its ability to retain stable physical/chemical properties under conditions of extreme temperature and pressure. This oil was used to lubricate precision instruments and was exported to the United States. In addition, local residents utilized the oil from both species as well as other body parts for either human consumption of the meat or for the manufacturing of some goods. Sperm whale hunting did not persist because the demand for its oil declined and the meat was considered inedible. In addition, local fishermen found that sperm whales were difficult

From archival records there were 25 were voyages to SVG for whaling, that took place between 1864 and 1886. In the 10 logbooks I examined 196 entries (daily records kept by the captain or designated crew member) regarding whale hunting. These entries documented that Yankee whalers sighted whales and lowered their boats 117 times. Of those attempts, 34.2% were successful at harpooning one or more humpback whales, but only 40 whales were landed. At least six of those landings were mother/calf pairs. Nine whales were hit but lost. With the addition kill/loss correction factor, Yankee whalers killed an estimated 75

The local residents adopted boat designs and equipment from Yankee whalers for shore whaling. In addition, terminology of the Yankee whalers such as 'sea-guaps' for sperm whales and 'blackfish' for short-finned pilot whales are names still used locally today. Cultural influence on SVG whalers by Yankee whalers can also be seen in the transfer of New England whaling shanties, or songs that helped the whalers keep rowing rhythm

This island was occasionally visited by Yankee whalers and sometimes was used as a base for their whaling. These vessels mostly pursued humpbacks, but occasionally took some short-finned pilot whales (Reeves, 1988). The last report of Yankee whaling for St. Lucia is

The presence of Yankee whalers was not uncommon in Grenadian waters during the second half of the nineteenth century. In the early months of 1857 as many as eight American whalers might have been seen anchored off St. George's, Grenada's capital, with their boats fully employed. Whaling ships primarily hunted humpbacks, but occasionally landed sperm whales, and a high percentage of their catch was cow-calf pairs. The ships provided whale meat to the local market of Grenada and the neighboring southern Grenadines (Romero and

and dangerous to catch.

humpback whales between 1864 and 1871.

(Kannada 2006 and references therein).

dated 1883 (Reeves and Smith, 2002).

Hayford, 2000, and references therein).

**4.5. St. Lucia** 

**4.6. Grenada** 
